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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.
Click here to report a problem with this page.
Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. George Anderson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <georgeanderson4@inbox.com>
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2015 18:15:00 -0800
Subject: The Fidelity Worldwide Investment Compensation Funds.
I am Mr. George Anderson, The Department of Compensation Fund Manager of Fidelity Worldwide Investment United States of America. The World Largest Fund Management Company with over US$290.1bn* Capital Investment Fund, I am contacting you based on our last meeting with the top official members of Fidelity Worldwide Investment regarding your long awaiting Compensation Funds of US$15 Million. The amount of US$15 Million has approved for final payment directly to you and the fund have been registered into two metal boxes to be delivered to you within 24hours with out any problem or delay. NOTE I Am Interested In Helping You To Get Your Funds Within 24hours. You are advised to include the following below details. (1). Full Name: (2). Delivery Address: (3). Telephone Number: (4). Occupation: (5). Age: (6). Gender: (7). Marital Status: (8). Company’s Name: (9). Driver’s License OR Passport: (10). Nearest Airport close to you: Best Regards, Mr. George Anderson. (71.9.234.202).
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Anti-fraud resources:
